HiI’m working on a tv stand. I’m using mahogany plywood for the carcase and solid mahogany for the top, face, legs, and drawer fronts. Problem… I’m not sure how to finish it. On my other projects I’ve just used a few coats of Arm-r-Seal, and that has worked fine.The mahogany I bought for this project seems noticeably lighter in color than what I’ve used before. A test of Arm-r-Seal on it just seems too light. I don’t think the wife would approve of it – she demands something a little darker.

So, any suggestions? I like easy, one-step/one-product finishes.How about Watco oil? If so, which color should I try in order to bring out the mahogany-ness?

8 replies so far

Mahogany can be a little tricky. It depends on the openness of the grain. You may need to apply a grain filler before you final finish. My suggestion is to give Old Masters http://www.oldmastrs.com/ a call and talk to them. They can help and their products work very well.

-- Methods are many,Principles are few.Methods change often,Principles never do.

Not sure how dark you are needing, but one trick I will sometimes use if I need to slightly darken mahogany is I will place it outside in direct sunlight. Of course you will want to be sure all machining and sanding is finished prior to doing so. To see how dark the wood will get, try it first with some scrap pieces by covering part of the wood so it doesn’t get any sun. You might be surprised.

As far as finish, I usually just clear gloss polyurethane. To get a very smooth surface I’ll do 3 or 4 coats, rubbing with #0000 steel wool after each but the final coat. Even after the poly, over time, the mahogany will continue to darken on its own.

Thanks jevarn71, maybe I’ll leave a piece of scrap out tomorrow and see what happens.I’ve tried just a coat of Arm-r-Seal, and it just didn’t darken the wood enough. I also tried a coat of Dark Walnut Watco oil, and it was just way too dark brown. Maybe I’ll try the Red Mahogany Watco next, but I hate to have to keep buying finishes that I’ll probably never use again.

Thanks, I noticed that the 2 tops in your nightstands are different colors… is that just because the color of the wood varies that much?I really like the color of the top on the left one, but I’d be really happy with either.